


Love You So Bad

by otc



Category: Sex Education (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:28:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22757791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/otc/pseuds/otc
Summary: This is just a one-off thing that I decided to write while I try to figure out where I want to go in the next chapter of my main fanfic, I hope you guys enjoy.
Relationships: Otis Milburn/Maeve Wiley
Comments: 3
Kudos: 78





	Love You So Bad

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a one-off thing that I decided to write while I try to figure out where I want to go in the next chapter of my main fanfic, I hope you guys enjoy.

Otis had thought the camping trip with Eric and his dad would be a good distraction from all of his problems from the past few days. He realized he was wrong, however, when he was lying there in the hotel bed, unable to sleep because his head was filled with thoughts about Maeve and Ola, weighing his options. He felt like it wasn’t right to leave Ola for Maeve, but he didn’t think it was fair that Ola was making him lose one of his best friends just because she was jealous. He knew deep down that he liked Maeve much more than he liked Ola, but he tried to ignore these feelings as best as he could.

One of the things holding him back from Maeve was his dad. He felt like that was something his dad would do, and as he was beginning to realize, if there was one person he definitely did not want to be like, it was his dad. His dad had been through so many partners because he had cheated so many times, and Otis thought that maybe if he left Ola for Maeve, that would set him down the same path as his father.

He wanted to ask Eric for advice, but he didn’t know if Eric would want to talk to him. He still thought that he was wrong for wanting to date Adam after all he had done, but he also realized that it wasn’t his place to tell that to Eric, especially when Eric hadn’t asked him in the first place. Plus, Eric was asleep by now, he would apologize in the morning, and maybe ask for advice as well.

He woke up the next morning having only gotten a couple hours of sleep and still feeling conflicted on what to do. He ended up deciding that before he made his decision, he needed to talk to both Maeve and Ola in person. He typed out a text to Maeve first.

-I’m confused. I think we should talk.-

He sat and thought about whether or not he really wanted to send that message before he did. He didn’t know if he could go through seeing Maeve again if he wasn’t going to be there with her. He wasn’t going to send the message, but then he thought about how unfair it would be to tell her over text, no matter what his decision ended up being, so he sent her the text. Next, he typed out a message to Ola, asking her to meet him.

-Hey Ola, I need to talk to you, can you meet me at my house when I get home this afternoon?-

-Sure, I’ll be there.-

Otis sighed his relief, the conversations he was going to have later were going to be awkward, but for now, he didn’t have to worry about it. He hoped that Ola would understand when he told her that he thought it was unfair of her to make him cut Maeve out of his life.

Suddenly he heard a knock on the door and got up to answer it. By the time he got to the door, the man who was there to give them more towels was already walking down the hallway, but he looked over and saw the receptionist walk out of his dad’s hotel room, and saw his dad saying goodbye to her. He couldn’t believe his dad, he had told Otis his wife had left him for someone else, but now he knew it was really because his dad had cheated again. He closed the door before his dad could notice he was there, not wanting to talk to him at the moment.

Later, as he and Eric were sitting on the steps waiting for his mom to come and rescue them, he decided he should apologize to Eric. ‘Eric, I’m sorry for what I said about Adam, I had no right to say that, and you should do what you think is right for you. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

Eric looked at Otis appreciatively. “Thanks Otis, you did help me realize that I need to think about it more before I can just leave Rahim, and I needed that. I’m sorry for what I said about Ola, if you think that she’s the one for you, then you should stay with her, I just don’t want you to miss out on something you might regret later.”

Otis shook his head. “You don’t need to be sorry. Some of what you said was right, and I need to talk to Ola before I can make a decision, because I don’t think it’s fair to ask me to cut Maeve out, and that’s what she’s doing.”

Eric smiled at Otis. “Just do what you feel is right, and I’ll support you no matter what.” 

Otis sighed. “Thanks, I’ll try.”

Eric’s face became concerned. “What’s wrong, Otis?”

“My dad wasn’t here because he wanted to see me, he’s here because his wife kicked him out after he cheated, I thought he actually wanted to see me this time.” Then, very quietly, he said, “Idiot.”

Eric didn’t say anything, but he embraced Otis, trying to comfort him. No matter how bad their arguments got, he never liked seeing his best friend get sad. They sat like that for a few minutes, until Eric saw Jean’s car pulling into the hotel parking lot.

Eric got up excitedly and ran to the car. “Oh thank God, Jesus is the lord.” And then when Jean got out of the car he gave her a hug and said, “Please never leave us again Jean.”

Otis put his bags in the trunk and walked up to his mom. “How was the trip?” She asked.

“We saw a nightingale, then we got lost, and dad fought a tent like it was a person, and the nightingale was a crow.” He smiled half sadly and half sarcastically.

His mom gave him a sympathetic look, then gave him a hug. He pulled away after a minute and got in the car, just wanting to get home, and not wanting to talk to his dad.

During the car ride home, Otis played out all the possible scenarios of what could happen that day in his head. He asked himself if he was willing to lose Maeve or Ola, because unless he got lucky, that would probably be what happened. The more he turned over his options in his head, the more he realized that he was probably going to have to tell Maeve he couldn’t see her anymore. He just didn’t know if he could go through with it, because she had been the first person he had ever really had feelings for.

When they got home after dropping Eric off, Ola was already waiting for him in the driveway. They met up and walked inside together, both of them unsure about what exactly was going to happen when they went up to his room to talk.

They got to his room, and as soon as he closed the door, he blurted out what he had to say, not wanting to lose his nerve before he could say it. “I don’t think it’s fair that you won’t let me see Maeve, we’re just friends and I don’t think I should have to cut her out of my life just because she admitted she has feelings for me. I mean, do you really not trust me that much? Do you really think I would cheat on you?”

Ola was taken aback by his sudden, not quite angry outburst. She may have actually fought him more about it if she had planned to stay together with him. “I don’t really care about that anymore Otis, you do what you want. But, I do need to talk to you about something else now.”

Otis nodded, relieved, but also waiting for the conversation to be completely over before he celebrated. “Okay, what’s up?”

“I’m just gonna go out and say it. I think we need to break up.”

Otis felt like he had just been punched in the gut. “What?”

“It’s not about Maeve, it’s for reasons that I don’t really want to share with you right now, but I don’t think we were meant to be together anyways.”

Otis shook his head, confused. “What do you mean, I thought we were doing great.”

Ola put a hand on his shoulder. “We’re great friends, but we aren’t great romantically. Think about it for a second, how often do we do something that friends do, like play video games, we do that all the time right? But we barely ever do anything romantic, we never even went on a date together. I think we’re meant to be just friends, and I’d be happy to be your friend still if you’d let me.”

Otis knew what she was saying was true, but he didn’t want to accept it. “No, Ola, we’re so great together, if I had known you wanted to do more romantic stuff I would have done it. Just please give me another chance.”

Ola shook her head. “I just don’t think it'll work out, besides, I think you’ve got someone else that you really like who also really likes you back.” Otis gave her a confused look at that, so she clarified. “Maeve. Even if she hadn’t told you she had feelings for you, almost everyone but you still knew that she did. You should talk to her before it’s too late, I think without me in the way, you guys could be really great together.”

“I don’t want Maeve, I want you Ola, please give me another chance.”  
Ola shook her head again. “We both know that’s not true. Also, you keep asking for another chance, like this is your fault, it’s not your fault Otis, don’t blame yourself, it just wasn’t working out.” She wished she could tell him the real reason he was breaking up with him, just to put him at ease, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell anyone yet.

Otis put his head in his hands, and when Ola put her arm on his shoulders, he asked her to please just leave. She got up and left him with, “Go and talk to Maeve, Otis.”

A few days ago, Ola never thought she would be urging Otis to go and ask out Maeve, but she had come to the realization of what it was like to be in love with someone else while you were in a relationship. She really would be a hypocrite if she went and pursued things with Lily, but still discouraged Otis from talking to Maeve. Plus, she still liked Otis, and she wanted him to be happy, no matter who it was with.

After Ola left, Otis sat on his bed, stunned. That breakup had been so sudden, and she wouldn’t even give him a reason for it, and why was she so determined for him to go and talk to Maeve? Just a couple days ago, she had hated Maeve, at least it had seemed that way. He didn’t know what to do, because this breakup did mean that he could go out with Maeve, but he didn’t know if it was okay to start dating someone else right after a breakup. He decided that he needed to talk to Eric about it, so he sent him a text.

-Hey Eric, how soon is too soon to start dating someone else after a breakup?-

-Oh my god, did you and Ola break up? I’m so sorry.-

-It’s weird, I’m actually not that upset, I just want to know how long I have to wait until I can go and talk to Maeve.-  
-Otis, you better not wait a single second longer, go and talk to her!-

He knew Eric was right, he had waited too long for this opportunity, and he couldn’t wait and risk things not working out again. He had planned to meet her in about another hour, so he started getting ready, thinking the whole time about what exactly he planned on saying. This whole thing had just fallen onto him all of a sudden, just thirty minutes ago he had been thinking that best case scenario was that he and Maeve could still be friends, and now he was about to confess his love for her. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he was completely unprepared for this, and he began to panic. Normally, he would tell his clients that love wasn’t ever something you could prepare for, but he was unable to calm himself down, he didn’t like the fact that he had no idea what he was rushing into. In his panic, he sent Maeve a text,

-Sorry, I can’t make it today, I’ll meet you another time.-

He knew that putting it off probably wasn’t the best idea, but the second he did it, it felt like a weight was lifted off of his chest. He texted Eric letting him know what happened, and Eric told him that he was an idiot, and that he needed to text her again and tell her that he actually could make it. He considered, but he just ended up ignoring Eric’s texts, thinking that he would do it another time when he was more prepared.

Eric was pissed at Otis, sometimes he felt like he cared about Otis’ love life more than Otis did, he was being so stupid. He needed to make Otis see reason, but he couldn’t do that when Otis was ignoring him, and he considered walking all the way to Otis’ house just to yell at him. How could he be so stupid? Maeve had literally told him she had feelings for him, yet he still can’t go and ask her out on a date? Sometimes he thought he was the only one around with a brain. He was about to go to Otis’ house to talk to him when he got a better idea. He left his house, but he was walking in a different direction from Otis’ house, determined to save Otis’ love life because he wouldn’t save it himself.

Maeve was upset when Otis told her he couldn’t make it, she thought that maybe he was avoiding her, and that he would keep avoiding her, and she would never get a chance to talk to him. Her mom knew something was wrong, but Maeve wouldn’t tell her what, and she didn’t have time to pry it out of her, because she had an NA meeting to go to. Maeve sat on the couch reading, and trying to distract herself from thoughts of Otis, she hated that she was so in love with him, it made her unable to control her emotions, and she didn’t like that at all.

She was about to fall asleep when a knock on her door woke her up, and she wondered who was at the door. She had a sudden belief that it was Otis, here to tell her that he loved her, and that he wanted to be with her, and she ran over to the door and threw it open. She was confused by what she saw at first, why was Eric at her door, and how did he know where she lived. 

Eric started talking before Maeve had a chance to ask any of her millions of questions. “Maeve, I need you to come to Otis’ house with me, I’ll explain on the way, but we have to go now.”

Maeve was still confused about why Eric was there. “What? I need you to explain now, Otis told me something came up, and he couldn’t meet me, what’s going on?”

Eric looked irritated and impatiently said, “Otis and Ola broke up, now you two need to get together, but he’s too scared to say anything, so you're gonna have to do it for him.” 

Maeve’s heart soared at the news that Otis was now single, but she still wasn’t sure. “If Otis wanted to be with me, why did he pretend that he couldn’t meet me today.”

At this point, Eric was beyond annoyed with Maeve and Otis, they were both being so dumb. “I already told you, he got scared, and if you don’t believe me, I will show you the texts he sent to me, but you need to go talk to him.”

Maeve was still unsure, but she had more confidence than Otis, so she decided to go. “Alright, let’s go, but I will skin you if you’re wrong.”

“Yes!” Eric exclaimed, and then under his breath, “At least one of you has some sense.”

Before they left, Maeve said she had to get something, and she came back out carrying a jumper. Eric asked her about it, but she wouldn’t tell him anything about it, only that it was very important. He didn’t question it any further, because despite having gotten to know Maeve last term, he still found her slightly scary, and he didn’t want to provoke her any more than he had to.

On their way to Otis’ house, Eric tried to make conversation with Maeve, about Otis and also about anything really, but Maeve stayed silent. She was nervous, much more nervous than the day she had gone to return Otis’ jumper the first time and had found him kissing Ola. She cursed herself for letting anyone have this much power over her emotions.

They arrived at Otis’ house and Eric knocked on the door, and also making sure that Maeve didn’t bolt, he could see how nervous she was now. Maeve heard footsteps walking towards the door and thought that it was time, that Otis would open the door and they wouldn’t even need to say anything, that he would know why she was there. Of course, though, it was Otis’ mom who opened the door, and not Otis.

Eric smiled. “Hi Jean, this is Maeve, she’s here to see Otis, but I have to go so bye!” He said it as quick as possible so he could run away before either one of them could stop him.

“Eric, wait!” Maeve shouted after him, but he was already gone, and she cursed herself for trusting him.

Jean noticed the jumper in Maeve’s hand, but she didn’t say anything about it. “It’s nice to meet you Maeve, Otis’ room is upstairs at the end of the hallway.”

Maeve walked in. “Yeah… um, thanks.”

Maeve walked up the stairs slowly, getting more and more nervous until she was at the top. She made her way down the hallway and put her hand on the doorknob, finding herself wishing she had stayed home. Suddenly, in one giant burst of courage, Maeve opened the door, preparing herself for whatever might happen next. 

At first Maeve was confused at why Otis’ bedroom would have a toilet and a shower, then she realized she had opened the door to the bathroom instead. She chuckled quietly to herself, thinking how anticlimactic that had been, and made her way to the only other door that could be Otis’ room. Opening the door to the bathroom had taken the edge off, and she found herself less nervous as she opened the door and stepped inside Otis’ room.

At first Otis thought it was his mom coming into his room, so he just kept looking at his phone, debating whether or not to text Maeve. When he didn’t hear her say anything, he looked up from his phone, and was surprised to see Maeve standing right in front of him. His first thought was to question why she was there, then his second thought was whether or not he could jump out the window without breaking both of his legs. 

Before he could do anything, however, Maeve started talking. “Eric sent me, he told me about what happened today, and he said that you wanted to talk to me but you chickened out.”

Otis stayed silent, not sure what to say, and Maeve nervously continued. “Listen Otis, I already confessed my feelings for you, so if you feel the same way, you have to say something, you have to meet me halfway.”

They both sat in silence for what felt like forever, and just when Maeve thought Otis wasn’t going to say anything, she heard him speak. “I love you, Maeve.”

At first she thought she had heard him wrong, he had said it quietly, and that couldn’t be what he said, could it? But when she saw the way he was looking at her, she knew that he did just tell her he loved her, and he really did mean it. “I love you too, Otis.”

And with that, they shared their first kiss, which should have happened all the way back on the night when Otis had given her the jumper. But, it was almost better that things had worked out this way, and both of them were happy, so in the end, it didn’t really matter.


End file.
